Hi everyone,
I'm a grade 13 student applying to UK universities and would greatly appreciate some advice from those of you with experience in quant trading or quantitative finance.
To give you some context, I’m predicted a 44/45 points in the IB with the following subjects:
Maths HL: 7
Business Management HL: 7
English B HL: 7
Physics SL: 7
Chemistry SL: 6
Spanish A SL: 7
I’m looking to pursue a career in quantitative trading (QT) and have recently applied through UCAS for several undergraduate programs at UK universities:
Warwick: MMORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics, and Economics)
UCL: Mathematics and Statistical Science
LSE: Financial Mathematics and Statistics
LSE: Mathematics with Economics
Edinburgh: Mathematics and Statistics
I didn't apply to Oxbridge because I unfortunately missed the deadline (I'm from mainland Europe and I didn't receive any support/guidance to apply to UK), and due to sickness + a bad day I bombed the TMUA, which made me non-eligible for any Imperial math course.
At first I thought that that wouldn't be a problem because of LSE strong position (I thought it was top tier for anything related to finance) but as i continue reading forums and messages from people in the quant industry, I see that LSE is not quite the target option. From my list, it seems that Warwick would be the best (as it is part of the COWI group) but I still feel that in normal conditions I would have had a chance to get into Oxbridge/Imperial, which are the truly renowned universities for quant finance.
My key questions are:
1. Warwick MORSE vs other options: From what I’ve read, Warwick's MORSE is highly regarded for quantitative finance. How does it compare to courses at LSE or UCL in terms of preparing for a career in QT or quant trading? Would it be worth it to take a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial?
2.Gap Year Considerations: I am thinking about taking a gap year to reapply to Oxbridge/Imperial and study to get top scores in TMUA/STEP papers + address areas like coding (which I currently lack experience in) and improving my competition-level math skills. Do you think this is a wise decision for QT or should I dive into university and focus on gaining those skills there? Is the risk of being in the same situation (rejection from Oxbridge/Imperial when reapplying) worth it?
3.Oxbridge/Imperial vs Warwick for Long-term Career: If I don’t get into Oxbridge or Imperial or I decide to not take the gap year and end up at Warwick, what would be the long-term impact on my career prospects in QT? Would an MSc like the Oxford MCF make up for not attending Oxbridge/Imperial UG?
Any advice on these decisions, especially regarding whether a gap year will make a big difference, or insights into the best university paths for quantitative finance careers, would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks in advance!